ATA officials, America's Road Team to meet with Trump on health care Thursday

Thursday, March 23, 2017

by THE TRUCKER STAFF

President Donald Trump honks the horn of an 18-wheeler truck while meeting with truckers and CEOs regarding healthcare on the South Lawn of the White House Thursday. (Associated Press: ANDREW HARNIK)

WASHINGTON – Leaders of the American Trucking Associations and members of ATA’s elite team of professional drivers, America’s Road Team, will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House Thursday afternoon to discuss the trucking industry and health care.

“It is an honor to be invited to the White House and to meet with the president,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “We look forward to telling our story – a story of how trucks move 70 percent of our nation’s freight safely and efficiently, touching every aspect of our economy, including our healthcare system. This is a tremendous opportunity for our members and drivers to talk about how the health care debate impacts them and their ability to move America’s goods.”

The meeting was first announced Monday afternoon by Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who mentioned it during a routine press briefing, but he gave no details.

In addition, ATA bringing its Image Truck – Interstate One – and a trailer provided by Jet Express featuring a Trucking Moves America Forward wrap, hauled by ATA’s Share the Road Truck to the White House.

These trucks are being driven and escorted by 12 professional drivers with a combined 319 years of driving experience and 29.4 million accident-free miles:

Steve Fields, Independence, Missouri, (YRC Freight);

Ralph Garcia, Albuquerque, New Mexico, (ABF Freight System);

David Green, Hot Springs, Arkansas, (Werner Enterprises);

Rhonda Hartman, Des Moines, Iowa, (Old Dominion Freight Line);

John Lex, Monroe, Georgia, (Walmart Transportation);

David Livingston, Springfield, Georgia, (TCW Inc.);

Don Logan, Eskridge, Kansas, (FedEx Freight);

Charlton Paul Jr., Chester, New York, (UPS Freight);

Russell Simpson, South Vienna, Ohio, (Holland Inc.);

Todd Stine, Altoona, Pennsylvania, (Carbon Express);

Barney Earl Taylor, Orlando, Florida (Penske) and

Derrick Whittle, Fieldale, Virginia, (Cargo Transporters Inc.)

“Trucking is a vital part of the American economy,” Burch said. “We are looking forward to meeting with President Trump and talking to him about how we can ease regulatory burdens on our industry, reform our tax system and rebuild America’s infrastructure."